Just as news came of a $20 million settlement of Gretchen Carlson’s sexual-harassment lawsuit against 21st Century Fox and her old boss, former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes, another network host announced her departure, explaining Fox “has not felt like home.”
Greta Van Susteren, host of the nightly “On the Record,” confirmed in a Facebook post Tuesday morning that she had decided to exercise a clause in her contract allowing her to leave. She had been with the network in various roles for 14 years.
“Fox has not felt like home to me for a few years and I took advantage of the clause in my contract which allows me to leave now,” she said. “The clause had a time limitation, meaning I could not wait.
Senior political analyst Brit Hume will take her place as host of “On the Record.”
“We are grateful for Greta’s many contributions over the years and wish her continued success,” Fox News co-presidents Jack Abernethy and Bill Shine said in a statement.
Carlson’s lawsuit, filed two months ago, prompted other women to come forward with allegations of harassment, leading to Ailes’ resignation. Ailes has strongly denied the allegations.
Fox News’ parent corporation, 21st Century Fox, however, issued a public apology Tuesday morning.
“We sincerely regret and apologize for the fact that Gretchen was not treated with the respect that she and all our colleagues deserve,” 21st Century Fox said.
Carlson said Tuesday: “I am gratified that 21st Century Fox took decisive action after I filed my complaint. I’m ready to move on to the next chapter of my life in which I will redouble my efforts to empower women in the workplace.”
‘Troubled by the culture’
Van Susteren, in her Facebook post, said she hoped to continue her career in broadcasting.
“I love my staff, I love my colleagues, and I love the crews. That is the hardest part of this decision as they are wonderful people,” she said.
“And most of all? I love the viewers – even the ones who have gotten mad at me over the years and taken swipes.”
Fox News reported Van Susteren tried to renegotiate her contract after Ailes left the network but decided to leave after negotiations became deadlocked. She had a “key-man clause” allowing her to exit if Ailes were to depart, Fox News media analyst Howard Kurtz reported.
But New York Magazine cited sources close to the negotiations that said her sudden departure was because she had become “troubled by the culture” Ailes created at Fox News.
After Carlson sued, 21st Century Fox brought in an outside law firm to investigate the allegations, Vanity Fair reported.
The lawyers spoke with more than 20 women who alleged inappropriate behavior by Ailes, and Fox has reached a settlement with two other women, who were not named.
Van Susteren: Claims don’t have ‘ring of truth’
Van Sustern has stood by comments she made in an interview shortly after Carlson filed the sexual harassment lawsuit, saying: “I did not defend Roger Ailes nor did I condemn him. I just stated what I knew or did not know. Period.”
In an interview with People magazine within a day of the filing, Van Susteren said Carlson’s claims don’t “have any ring of truth to me.”
“I would have heard it. People don’t keep things silent,” she said, noting that colleagues were accustomed to coming to her with problems.
She described Carlson, who left “Fox & Friends” in 2013 to host “The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson,” as “a disgruntled employee” who apparently got angry after her show was canceled.
“I deal with Roger Ailes often. I’ve often been alone with Roger Ailes in his office over the course of 15 years and I’ve never seen anything like what I’m reading about in the papers and the magazine,” Van Susteren said at the time.
She concluded that if “Ailes were how he’s described, there’s no way I would’ve stuck around.”
“I don’t feel like putting up with that stuff and I wouldn’t,” she said.